NASCAR 2026: Denny Hamlin issues health update on injury that requires surgery

NASCAR star Denny Hamlin has provided a health update ahead of this Sunday's Daytona 500.

The Joe Gibbs Racing star revealed ahead of last week's Clash exhibition at Bowman Gray Stadium that he had re-aggravated a shoulder injury during the offseason while going through the rubble after a house fire at his parents home in North Carolina.

The 44-year-old says that it needs surgery, and when that time comes, he will be out for three to four months.

Hamlin, though, plans to continue racing throughout the 2026 season with the injury, delaying that surgery until the first day of the offseason in November.

NASCAR RACE TODAY: Daytona 500 Duels start times, schedule, how to watch live on TV and stream

Hamlin issues pre-Daytona 500 injury update

Last week's Clash was the first time Hamlin raced since revealing his pain, and speaking ahead of this Sunday's Great American Race, the 44-year-old revealed how he held up over the 200 laps.

“It was ok. Truthfully, it wasn’t too bad," Hamlin explained on Daytona 500 media day.

"Most of the soreness came the day after, where usually at the end of 2023, I was getting fatigued a bit at the end of races. I didn’t have any of that at the Clash, so I’m in a better position than I was then.

"But, we are only on race one of the long season. I think it’s yet to be seen where it goes from here.”

Daytona a different physical test

Hamlin is bound to be asked about his condition regularly throughout the season, but it will certainly be interesting to hear from him after Thursday night's Duels and Sunday's main event.

That's because Daytona International Speedway is a completely different beast from Bowman Gray Stadium in terms of the physical exertion it will put on his body.

Around Bowman Gray, with all of the cautions, the average speed of the race was just 21.39 mph, with top speeds only reaching the 70-80 mph mark.

However, at Daytona, the average speed during recent events has been somewhere in the 130-160mph range, depending on the number of cautions, with Kyle Busch having hit a best speed of 183.651 mph during qualifying on Wednesday night.